December 26, 2021

REVELATION: LET EVERYONE COME

December 26, 2021

Pastor Jonathan Falwell

 

Do you find it frustrating to know the correct answer to an issue, yet those around you do not believe you see the truth? What is the method you use to resolve these conflicts?

 

With the Book of Revelation, we end the sermons for 2021 that began last January, as our church was challenged to read through the Bible, and sermons focused on the various books. This week we finish the last book, Revelation, written by the apostle John, as he describes scenes and visions which came to him while he was exiled on the Isle of Patmos. The Bible tells the complete story of God’s work from the time of creation to the final days when His purposes and plans for the earth are completed. It tells the events surrounding Jesus Christ in His role as a Babe coming to earth, fully God, yet fully Man. He ended His earthly ministry on a Cross at Calvary and is seated at the right hand of God the Father, waiting to be told to return to earth to get His children.

 

Focal Passage: The Book of Revelation

           

            Jesus is the Answer

 

  • Read Revelation 1:1-3. In verses 1 and 2, what did God tell Jesus, and what did Jesus then do? What was John to do with the revelations he saw?
  • In verse 3, what are the promises made to the readers and hearers? What is the responsibility of those persons? Is there an age at which we retire from service?
  • Why is obedience so important in the last phrase? Read 2 Peter 3:10. Is this the same “Day of the Lord” that John speaks of as being near? How can today, two-thousand years later, be termed “near”?
  • Read Rev. 22:16. In the last verses of the Word of God, Jesus tells John His last words. What are His instructions for the Scriptures?
  • How does He describe Himself? What is significant when He calls Himself the “Root” of David, as well as the “offspring”? What can be amassed from the title “the Bright Morning Star”?

 

For the World Today

 

  • Read Rev. 22:17a. Who is speaking? What type of invitation is He giving? Who does the invitation come from? What are some of the functions of the Holy Spirit? Who is the bride? What are some of the functions of the Church?
  • Read Rev. 22:17b. Who is the one who hears? Does everyone who hears have the responsibility to invite others? Can we as believers shirk this duty?
  • Read verse 17c. Who can be thirsty? Read John 4:14. Is this the same water referred to in 17c? Read Rev. 21:6. What is one thirsty for? What did Jesus tell the Samaritan woman in John 4:13-14? How did her story end?
  • Read verse 17d. Who is the invitation for? Can blessings be enjoyed now or must we wait for heaven? What are some of the benefits of serving Christ here on earth?
  • Why are the Christians around the world today anxious for Christ to return? Read 2 Peter 3:9. The Lord has the opposite viewpoint. What is it?

 

Jesus is the Way

 

  • Read Rev. 22:18-19. Again, as in the first chapter, Jesus refers to His coming again as “soon.” How does the church respond? Are you one who says, “Come, Lord Jesus”, or would you prefer He wait so you can enjoy your home, job, etc., a little longer? What if it is your time to go to Him this evening? Are you ready?
  • Amen is a declaration of faith in what has been said; what does it mean?

 

Close

 

Have you ever asked yourself how a book could have been written throughout a period of about fifteen hundred years, finished over two thousand years ago, and yet remain the best-selling book of all time, year after year? God spoke the world into being, then inspired writers to put down every word He wanted to say to mankind. Is that phenomenal? No other book has come close to selling as much as the Bible. Why?

Without God, we would not be here. The account of His creation begins in Genesis. When you read the Bible for the first time, you are probably amazed that it contains the good, the bad, and the ugly—and at times, even repelling! It tells of lives filled with sin, biographies of love, and accounts of human degradation. Eventually, leaving the Old Testament with its Law, animal sacrifices, and prophetic warnings of God not tolerating sin indefinitely, we get to the New Testament where the Law is replaced by the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. It tells us that all humans are sinful, that no one searches for God, and that there is no payment capable of wiping out of the debt of sin that each man owes God. Until Jesus Christ. The New Testament becomes His story, God with Us, able to live in human form although without sin, and therefore able to pay the debt of sin by shedding His blood on a cross. Without His gift of payment for sin, we would go to a very real place called Hell.

It is often said but vitally important to know that no matter what age you are, the most significant thing you can do is recognize the certainty that you will die and meet God. If you are on social media often, you know that you are warned of taking care of your eternal destiny time and time again, and it is often from people who have lost someone at a time they did not expect, and no one had led their loved one to Christ. If you hear the Gospel even once and ignore it, you will have no defense when you stand before God. You have rejected the one Way He planned for sin to be paid for.

With John’s account of Revelation, the Holy Bible was complete, and everything we need to know about how to get saved is contained within. If we are saved, it is our joy each day to serve Him—never a hardship. He is the only way to the Father, because two thousand years ago He left the glory of heaven, and entered our world as a baby. He was raised to adulthood to fulfill the ministry for which He came: to die on a cruel cross because the wages of sin is death—and He took that responsibility to pay for our sins. Believe it, confess it, tell others, lead them to the Savior. It’s your duty as a Christian

 

 

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